With almond milk

The maid was sitting on my stairs
The helper was on the stairs
The stranger was on the stairs
She was a foreigner
She didn’t speak my language
We couldn’t communicate
She was on my stairs
I was pouring a bowl of cereal
I didn’t know she was there
I saw her
I could have said hi
It was very uncomfortable
So uncomfortable
She was on my stairs
She could have sat on the couch
Why not sit on the couch?
Why not sit on the chair?
Why sit on the stairs?

You’re human,
Of course, sit on the seats
Yet she sits, silent, as the border crossing
A gap no words can cross

She does not speak my language
I poured the bowl of cereal
I hid like a mouse in my hole
Taking my cheese with me
My heart thumped—a drum of quick retreat
That space between us
More than air